Remember
by Purple255225
Summary: They believed she was gone forever, but then rumors about the return of Zakuro Fujiwara to the modeling and film industry confirmed he hadn't kept his hopes high for nothing. Ryou/Zakuro. For Soccer-Geek's contest.


**Remember**

**For Soccer-Geek's contest. I ship RyouXIchigo but for this contest I chose to write RyouXZakuro :) It takes place after the series. **

* * *

Rain. That's all you could see if you looked outside. Pouring down upon the Earth. It seemed as if soon nothing will be left but the rain and the water, but every storm has to come to an end eventually. Even the storm that has been whirling in his head ever since she was gone.

It was raining when he opened up to her for the first time. He'll never forget that. He remembered it as if it happened just this second. He could almost see their figures in the rain...

_"What are you doing out here in this weather?!" He exclaimed, holding a blue umbrella over their heads. _

_There was something different about the look in her eyes that day. He didn't seem to notice it at first, but as soon as she spoke he realized something wasn't right._

_"Will it be worth it? All this death?" Her sapphire eyes shone in the moonlight, a fraction of sadness within them, carefully hidden and tucked away. She wasn't the kind of person to talk about everything that was on her mind. _

_He took a moment to think about her question, not expecting something like that to come up. "What are you talking about? No one died."_

_"Yet." She replied blankly. "Sooner or later we're gonna have to kill them, or they'll kill us. So just tell me, will it be worth it?" She hesitated before continuing, feeling like it would be saying too much, but the words already slipped out of her mouth. "I've lost enough."_

_She regretted the words as soon as she said them, but didn't let it show. She never did. _

_"I don't know what happened to you, Zakuro…" He wanted to look in her eyes, but felt it would only make her uncomfortable, as if she wasn't already, so he let his stare rest on a tree behind her as he spoke. "But if you don't want to talk about it, just know that I understand." He sneaked a quick glance at her. He knew a thing or two about loss himself. When he lost his parents, he had Keiichiro. Zakuro didn't seem to have anyone. __**A Lone Wolf.**__ He found himself wondering why. But whatever the case was, he wanted to be there for her. He had no idea what happened, but one thing he was sure of. No one should go through something like this alone. _

Ryou shook his head, turning his gaze away from the window. He couldn't bear it anymore, the memories hurt too much.

He picked up the newspaper from this morning and sat on his bed. Flashlights being the only source of light in the room after the power going out made it hard to read, but he desperately needed a distraction. International news, economy, politics, sports, weather, fashion. He'd read anything. But something caught his eye in the movies section.

**Rumor has it Fujiwara Zakuro has returned into the modeling and film industry. After staying in the shadows for what seems like a year, Fujiwara was rediscovered by great movie writer Atsushi Koru and was offered the lead role in his latest creation. Though not many is known…**

He looked up from the newspaper, trying to give order to the mess his thoughts has gotten into, feeling as if the storm in his head had just grown stronger, yet more calming in a way. Encouraging. He read the lines over and over again until they were carved in his brain. He couldn't believe what he saw. She was alive and well. After all, he hadn't kept his hopes up for nothing.

He quickly got up from his bed, taking the newspaper in one hand and the blue umbrella in the other. Tonight, he will find her.

Overwhelmed with the discovery he had just made, blinded by a new source of hope, he didn't see something didn't make sense. After everything they went through, he should be the first to know about her return. Not the newspaper.

The wind blew in his face as he exited the building, causing his hair to move in different directions. He got a feeling of a déjà vu and almost expected to see Zakuro standing in front of him, right where she stood last time. The memories from before replayed in his brain again, for the thousandth time just this month.

_"You don't have to say anything," he told her. "I lost people in my life too." _

_"Thanks." It was one simple word, but so much understanding and gratitude stood behind it. "I know it may not be in place, but may I ask… Who did you lose?" She couldn't help but wondering, and since she couldn't run away from her own misery she hoped hiding in someone else's would be helpful, even if just for a short while._

_"My parents," he answered. He never actually talked about it, not even to Keiichiro, but something about Zakuro, in that place, in that time, made him feel like she would understand. Like he could finally let out what he didn't know he's been keeping inside for so long. All he ever needed was for someone to ask. Zakuro was that someone. And so he told her everything about what happened to his parents, from his father's findings to the fire and the Chimera that killed them. _

_"So if it makes you feel any better… I know how it feels."_

_It didn't. She only felt as if her pain has just grown two times stronger than it was before. She had no idea he lost his parents. She never asked. She felt like she should've, but knowing Ryou she was surprised he even said anything now._

_"It doesn't," she said truthfully. "But I'm glad you can talk about it. Not many people could." _

_And she was one of them. _

_Even without looking at her he could see it. _

He walked away from the entrance, proceeding towards the vegetation gate. His hands were freezing in the cold and the rain was blocking his sight, but he didn't mind. He looked back one last time before making his way into his car.

_"It won't be the same now, I know." He hesitated at first, then grabbed her hand and gently held it in his. "But you'll get through this."_

_She didn't answer. It wasn't the first time she had lost someone she loved, but this time was different. She felt like she could've prevented it if only she was there, or at the worst case at least get to spend a few more precious moments together before the end, but it was already too late._

_They stood like this for a couple of minutes, each of them stuck in their own silence, their own world, their own agony._

_Suddenly aware of his hand holding hers, Zakuro looked at them then spoke up. "Thanks again. It's time I go home now." Home. She didn't have a place she could call that in years. Now she felt like she never will._

_He let go of her hand slowly and nodded his head. "You're welcome."_

_"Just promise me one thing," she said before walking away, changing the subject back. "No one dies."_

_"As long as I have control over the situation, I promise."_

The words still echoed in his mind as he got inside his car. After all, he had kept his promise to her. It wasn't easy, but the right thing to do never is.

He read the article one more time before starting the car, hoping some information of her current location will be mentioned, but there was nothing there. He'll just have to go to her latest address.

xXxXxXx

Half past midnight. That's when he finally arrived at her house. He used to go there every day, waiting for her to come back even when everyone else said it's hopeless. He got out of the car quickly, eager to prove them wrong, to see her face again, to see the look she had in her eyes when she looked at him. He felt like his heart was melting just from thinking about it.

The rain had stopped by the time he got there, but he took the umbrella with him anyway. It felt appropriate.

He rang the doorbell and tried to look through the windows and find her inside the house, but they were all covered with indigo colored curtains. Footsteps could be heard getting closer from the other side of the door, and for a moment there he was scared he got it all wrong and it won't be her after all, but all his doubts were gone as soon as the door opened.

She stood there, her purple hair lying perfectly on her shoulders, moving slowly with the gusts of wind. She looked as gorgeous as he remembered her. She could even pull off a garbage bag if she wanted to.

Her words, however, were not as beautiful as he would think.

"Haven't you harassed me enough?!" She asked, barely even bothering to look who was standing at the door. The paparazzi have been following her around ever since the article about her return was out.

"You're ok," he said, ignoring what she said and pulling her into a hug, causing the umbrella to fall on the floor. "I knew it all this time, you escaped them after all."

She pushed him away.

"I don't mean to be rude, but who the hell are you?" Even after being famous for so long, no one has ever come to her house after midnight and hugged her while making such a weird statement. But there was something about him, now that she got a better look at him. Something familiar, like she should've known that guy. And what he said made her think back to a certain day from months ago. She woke up at noon, and everything around her felt out of place. Like something was missing, something inside of her.

"You don't know?"

She remained silent. The look in his eyes made her want to hug him like he hugged her just a moment ago, but it didn't make sense to her. He was a complete stranger.

But he wasn't. Deep down she knew it's not the first time she saw him. She knew some time, at some point of her life she couldn't remember, he was the most important person in her life.

"Do you remember anything of it?" His voice broke. He found her, but she lost him. He couldn't let this happen. He couldn't be so close and walk away. "Tokyo Mew Mew? Aliens? The rise of Deep Blue? The Lethal Killers?"

The words spun around in her mind like she should know them. "Am I supposed to?"

Something on her neck caught the moonlight and caused Ryou to turn his attention to it. He didn't notice it at first, thinking it was just some necklace, but now that he looked at it again it looked more like a… pendant.

"What's that?" He asked, pointing at the pendant with his head. If she had it, maybe she could still remember something.

"Just something I got, it's not important. Now explain yourself or I'll close this door. I don't like wasting my time."

_"I don't want to waste my time fighting a vacuous battle."_

At least she's still herself, he thought. Some things never change.

_"I know you don't, none of us does. But you are the ones who give it purpose. Even if the enemy is too stupid to listen, you give it meaning. It will never be vacuous as long as you're involved."_

_What he didn't know was, she had lost all of her reasons to fight._

_"Just… Be careful." He looked deep down into her eyes, searching for the soul hidden behind them. "I'd hate to lose you."_

_Translation: I'd love to have you._

_He wouldn't say it, but they both knew._

_"I'd hate to lose you too… Which is why I can never have you." She turned her back and walked away._

_She didn't just lose all of her reasons to fight, she also didn't want to gain any others._

For months now he thought she was right, but at the same time he didn't regret any of it one bit. That was only one of the many causes to the never ending storm in his brain.

"I know," he said now. "You said that before."

And as he said it, she felt like she really did. She couldn't explain it. She felt like he might be able to.

She looked at him silently, waiting for him to start explaining.

He recognized that look. That's the look she always had when she was running out of patience.

So he told her. He told her about how she was turned into a Mew Mew and fought off aliens in order to defend the Earth. He told her about the other Mews, her friends who cared for her so deeply they would sacrifice their own lives if it meant saving her.

She cut him off when he finished the part about Deep Blue's defeat and the aliens coming back to their home planet with the remaining of the Mew Aqua.

"If what you're saying is true, I should know about it since as you said, nothing happened to me in that final battle."

"Except it wasn't the… Final final battle." Ryou looked down at his feet, failing to speak properly as the story progressed. "We thought it was, but it wasn't. Deep Blue was reawakened by a species called The Lethal Killers. They killed so much they were cursed to look like the dead." He said bitterly. "For every person they kill a small part of their life force is taken away as punishment. They are required to bring life as opposed to all the death they caused to avoid dying completely. They just had to choose Deep Blue… They tried to take over the Earth to make it their own factory of killing people for fun and bringing them back to life when needed, with Deep Blue as their king. And during the last- When we last met them in our latest battle… They took you. And… I think they killed your memories. The memories of all this life you had with us… With me… I'm sorry, there was nothing we could do. I tried everything." He tried to remain cool as he spoke the next sentence. "But before that- During all that- You became the most important person in my life. You still are."

He looked into her eyes, trying to see what she was thinking. She still didn't believe him.

Honestly, who would?

"And the pendant you're wearing-" He continued. "That's what you used to transform."

She eyed him suspiciously then took the pendant off her neck to examine it.

He reached his hand to touch it, as if out of an impulse. He just felt like he should.

And as soon as he did, something changed.

Zakuro's vision became more vivid, like a foggy car window finally being wiped and cleaned after a rain storm.

Words came all the way from the bottom of her heart to her mouth.

Suddenly, everything fell into place.

You can't listen to your heart if it's broken, whether you're aware of it or not.

Ryou was just the missing piece.

She couldn't hold the words in any longer.

"Mew Mew Zakuro, Metamorphosis!" She kissed the pendant and purple light surrounded her.

Drowning.

She was drowning in her own memories. Each of them flashed before her eyes, all at the same time, surrounding her like a cloak of light and warmth.

She watched as she transformed into her Mew form for the first time, as she finally decided to join the team. She saw herself lashing out attacks at pointy eared aliens and gigantic mutated animals. She tried holding on to the memories for just a second longer, but with no luck.

Her eyes threatened to swell and fill with tears when a memory of getting another letter from her mother appeared, but it vanished before they had the chance to.

She could feel her heart skip a bit as memories of her and Ryou started pouring in. Their talk in the rain, their first kiss when she came back from China after the aliens managed to cause a disturbance there as well, the way he fought so desperately to protect her from The Lethal Killers even when she was already being carried away.

The last memory to flash before her was one of a disgusting black and green face that seemed to be forever in a state of liquid, parts of it dripping on the floor beneath her like a candle melting before going out.

Then, as if a candle inside her was really going out, everything turned black and she collapsed. It was too much, even for her.

Ryou caught her before she could hit the ground and her transformation dissolved.

He held her tight, treasuring the so comforting feeling of her body pressed against his. He's been longing for it for way too long.

He quickly looked around to make sure no one saw what happened before he let his gaze meet hers. She didn't open her eyes until a few seconds later, and when she did her expression was hard to read. Even Ryou couldn't figure it out.

He held her even tighter, but she didn't return his hug.

"We didn't kill them," he said without thinking. "We sent them back to where they came from and made sure they have no intention of coming back."

No response.

"You know I'm a man of my word."

The look in her eyes softened and she wrapped her arms around him, finally hugging him back.

He smiled to himself. She was back. At last.

And with that, the storm in his head faded completely, leaving nothing behind it but a beam of light.

xXxXxXx

They had a kind of silent communication between them. Always had. Together, they didn't even need words. One look could tell them much more than the longest book in the world could. And in that moment, her eyes told him the same thing his told her.

I missed you.

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**Well, this turned a LOT longer than I thought it would. Hope you liked it :) **


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